Former Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi received a lot of backlash in May when a video of him accusing Prime Minister Narendra Modi of committing religious atrocities went viral on social media. 

The Indian cricket fraternity has come out in large numbers and hit back at Afridi. Former cricketers Harbhajan Singh, Gautam Gambhir, Yuvraj Singh and Suresh Raina were among those who expressed disappointment at Afridi’s anti-India comments. 

An irate Harbhajan said that the Pakistan cricketer was unworthy of his friendship, while Yuvraj regretted lending support to Afridi’s charity. The ‘Shahid Afridi Foundation’ is raising funds for the underprivileged in Pakistan who have been affected by the coronavirus pandemic. 

In April, both Harbhajan and Yuvraj had posted videos on their official social media handles calling for assistance to the Pakistan player’s charity. 

Yuvraj in a tweet said, “Really disappointed by @SAfridiOfficial’s comments on our Hon’ble PM @narendramodi ji. As a responsible Indian who has played for the country, I will never accept such words. I made an appeal on your behest for the sake of humanity. But never again,” he said.

In the video that went viral in May, Afridi said that while the world was currently infected by such a big disease, the bigger disease in Modi’s mind. 

“I am in your beautiful village, I am very delighted. I had been planning to visit you all for a long time. The world is currently infected by such a big disease. But an even bigger disease resides in Modi’s mind,” Afridi can be heard saying. 

He goes on to accuse Modi of religious atrocities. “Modi has deployed 7 lakh soldiers in a small Kashmir, same as the total strength of the Pakistan Army,” he added. 

This is not the first time that the Pakistan cricket has raised eyebrows with his comments on Kashmir. 

Afridi had visited the Line of Control (LoC) last year after India scrapped Article 370, which provided special status to Jammu and Kashmir. Afridi had said that his visit was to ‘express solidarity with Kashmiri brethren’ and had urged the United Nations to intervene in the matter.